BioWare: ‘We’re not lying about day one DLC’

BioWare has responded to criticisms surrounding the origin of its day-one DLC content. The studio has said that DLC for Mass Effect 3 and other games is being communicated truthful, isn’t on-disc and isn’t just kept off the disc to milk profits.

Speaking at GDC Europe last week, BioWare’s director of online development Fernando Melo explained, “Contrary to what you might hear on the internet, fans do want more content. They tend to say, ‘I want it now.’ The problem with day one content and the challenge around it is that the right answer for now is different for every player. There is no single right time, there is no single now. It’s subjective, and it’s unique to every player.”

“If you have a consistent culture of how you’re communicating to your fans,” Melo added, “that will increase the number of people that are more likely to believe in your explanation. You’re not lying to them, but they will take whatever you’re saying as like, ‘you’re lying to us.’ That will always be there.”

Melo concluded, “The only way that that’s going to go away is you fast forward a few more years, where this is just normal. Every game is digital from day one. Every game is an ongoing service, almost like an MMO, where on any given day new content shows up. Maybe that’s part of the base package, and maybe it’s a premium feature.”